By: Jackson Cummings

Sentry Staff Reporter

When winter approaches, students throughout Arlington county are eager for any sign of snow that could mean a day off of school. However, most students do not know about the process that takes place to determine the closure of school.

According to a public service announcement about snow days on the Arlington Public Schools official website, APS staff talk with regional weather representatives from the national weather service, local and regional agencies and neighboring school systems. Soon after this, at around four in the morning, country school bus operations staff members drive around schools and into neighborhoods to obtain first-hand information.

Next, these staff members report to Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy, who makes the final decision. The staff members try their best to ensure that emergency messages for the county are posted by 5 a.m. that day.

Many Arlington students are jealous of how Fairfax County Public Schools are closed more often than APS schools are. Some students may believe that FCPS will close the moment snow starts to fall. However, it should be acknowledged that FCPS follows through with steps very similar to the steps APS takes to determine the opening or closing of schools. According to a PSA on their official website, they take the situation very seriously. Former chief operating officer of FCPS, Dean Tistadt shares some of the processes that take place. First of all, he says representatives from all around the county check the weather and discuss their options. People working in the transportation department are instructed to drive all around the county to find out the condition of the streets. Additionally, Tistadt says,

“I will talk to the police department and have them do an all-call to the police officers on the road to get road assessments.” Tistadt even goes to the Virginia Department of Transportation website and checks information about road temperature, because the temperature of the road will help determine whether snow will stick or not.

Tistadt says school safety is the number one priority. He is not worried about the buses, as the bus drivers are trained superbly and know how to handle dangerous situations such as snow. Instead, he is worried about the teenage drivers who may not necessarily have an a great deal of experience driving on dangerous roads. Conclusively, Tistadt states that if the FCPS staff feel the conditions are unsafe, they close school.

FCPS also tries to have their information about the school status online early in the morning, at about 5 a.m. However, Fairfax recognizes the preparation that some families may need to make, and usually makes decisions the before midnight. Recently, FCPS has alerted families much earlier than APS has.

Of course, all students are ready for a day off. Some spend the day sleeping in, while others go sledding or shovel snow for money.

Freshman Helmer Hernandez says he sleeps in and spends the day as a day to relax. When asked, he commented on the time of day APS alerts families.

“[Arlington wants to] maximize the amount of school days and see if the conditions get better or worse,” said Hernandez. However, he thinks Arlington should “make decisions earlier so everyone has time to prepare.”

“I sleep in on snow days. Sometimes I shovel walkways and driveways with my friends for money”  said another freshman by the name of Justin Broffman. Broffman also said that he is annoyed by having to wake up so early to check the status of school.

“It’s definitely a pain to have to wake up early, but [Arlington makes decisions so late] to make sure the decision they made is worth it” said Broffman.

Both Hernandez and Broffman agree that APS should try making decisions earlier. Of course, no one likes having to get up extra early.

Many people refer to the snowstorm of 2010 as “Snowmageddon.” During February of 2010, a wild amount of snow appeared. According to the Washington Post, there were at least 20 inches of snow. APS were even closed for 10 days!

The snow made everything harder. For example, walking 10 feet in the deep snow took five minutes. The roads were closed for a period of time and power went out for tons of families throughout our area. On the contrast, the snow also proved to be a lot of fun. The surplus of snow allowed for sledding, snowball fights and almost every other activity possible with snow.

This year, Arlington experienced snow. Although it was not as much, it was still something. The snow kept building and freezing over. So far, there have only been three snow days. In the case that school closes two more times (for a total of five days), the days will be made up. Instead of adding days onto the summer, Arlington plans to use holidays to make up school work. According to the Arlington Public Schools 2013-2014 Handbook, the make up days include President’s Day (February 17) and Teacher Grade Preparation Day (March 31). If more days need to be made up, early release days will become full days.

Ultimately, snow days are a major relief and Arlington is glad to have them. Although students have to wake up early to check the status of school, nothing beats having a day off from it. Hopefully in the future APS will make a decision sooner.